FL Cheerleading Coach Sent Explicit Texts To 14-Year-Old: Police

Miami FL

23 February, 2022

3:40 PM

Description

BOYNTON BEACH, FL — A Palm Beach County cheerleading coach is facing several felony charges after she sent sexually explicit text messages to a 14-year-old student, according to police. Kassidy Sottilare, a 27-year-old junior varsity cheerleading coach, was arrested early Wednesday morning after the student and her mother went to Boynton Beach police to report the woman's behavior, police said. According to police, Sottilare sent the student a friend request via Instagram which she accepted. Sottilare then messaged the student, saying she wanted to "spoil and f--- with her," police said. Upon reporting the incident, the student and her mother gave police permission to use the student's phone and Instagram account to pose as the student and communicate with Sottilare, police said. After confirming she knew the student was only 14, police continued to text Sottilare, who mentioned sex and smoking with the student. Sottilare also said she wanted the girl to sit on her lap and give her a kiss, adding that the student's "clothes did not have to stay on," according to police. Police, still posing as the student, agreed to meet Sottilare in the 3400 block of High Ridge Road in Boynton Beach, according to the arrest report. Once there, officers made contact with Sottilare and took her into custody. After reading Sottilare her Miranda rights, she said she had a "romantic connection" with the student, knew she was 14 years old, found her online, and admitted to texting with the student and traveling to pick her up, according to police. Sottilare is facing several felony charges including an offense against a student by an authority figure, traveling to meet a minor and driving with a suspended license. Sottilare also is a U.S. Army veteran and was honored by the School District of Palm Beach County for her service to the country and local education during a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 2021.